FULLERTON – In a battle of nationally ranked men's basketball programs, No. 13 Hope International rode the hot shooting of Aman Haynes, Addy G'Bye and Jorren Edmonds to an impressive 84-75 victory over No. 22 Benedictine Mesa on Saturday inside Darling Pavilion.
The two teams entered the game undefeated in the Great Southwest Athletic Conference, and the Royals took over sole possession of first place with the triumph. HIU is now 15-2 overall and 5-0 in the GSAC, while the Redhawks dropped to 17-1 overall and 5-1 in league action.
Haynes posted his sixth 20-point performance, finishing with a team-high 21 points and 11 rebounds to secure his second double-double. The freshman registered his 16th straight game with double-digit points. He hit 9 of 12 floor shots.
G'Bye added 20 points – his third 20-point effort in the last five games – canning six threes. He pulled down a career-high seven rebounds as well.
Edmonds scored 19 points on 7 of 11 shooting, hitting both of his three-point attempts and all three free throws. He chipped in five rebounds, four assists, a block and three steals while not committing a turnover in 37 minutes.
Senior Nick Hopkins tied Haynes for game-high rebounding honors with 11. He also contributed nine points, three assists, a block and a steal.
The Royals shot 50 (30 of 60) percent overall, including 45.5 (10 of 22) percent from distance. Benedictine Mesa knocked down 13 threes, but shot just 34.8 (24 of 69) percent overall.
HIU won despite its struggles from the free throw line, finishing just 14 of 27 for the game.
Boasting a 10-point halftime lead, the Royals saw their momentum dwindle as the Redhawks opened the second half scoring 18 of the first 26 points to tie the score at 51-51 with 13:58 to play. Two Malik Payton triples and two more from Damian Zivak and Eric Blackwell played a big role in the comeback.
Zivak splashed another triple to give BENU a 58-56 lead – their first lead since 16-13 in the first half – but HIU's Colin Weems responded with a three of his own as the Royals led by one.
Neither team led by more than three for the next five minutes. G'Bye sank a triple to hand HIU a 71-67 lead with 4:43 remaining. That started a crucial 13-2 run, bookended by another G'Bye three which increased the lead to 81-69 at the 1:57 mark.
Eric Blackwell hit a pair of threes for the Redhawks down the stretch, but it was not enough.
Darvelle Wyatt played a key role in HIU's late push, feeding his teammates for several buckets. He posted five of his game-high eight assists in one six-possession stretch.
HIU shot 55.2 (16 of 29) percent in the first half and limited BENU to 9 of 31 efficiency to claim a 43-33 halftime lead. G'Bye scored 14 first half points after knocking down four threes.
The Royals face another ranked opponent in No. 4 Arizona Christian, heading out on the road for a Thursday, January 15 contest at 6:30 p.m.
